Effects of an imagery program on female college swimmers' perceptions of anxiety and precompetitive state anxiety levels

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Authors
Page, Stephen J.
Advisor
Wayda, Valerie K.
Issue Date
1995
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (M.S.)
Department
School of Physical Education
Other Identifiers
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of an imagery session on intercollegiate female swimmers' precompetitive state anxiety levels and on perceptions of anxiety. A switched replication design was utilized in which twenty-two female intercollegiate swimmers were administered the the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory2, CSAI-2 (Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990) and the Competitive Anxiety Perception Scale, CAPS, (Murray, 1989) weekly over the course of five weeks. Subjects were then randomly exposed to an imagery session during this period. Although descriptive data showed decreases in subjects' levels of A-state, a 2x2 ANOVA revealed no significant differences between subjects' PRE and POST scores. The observed decreases in A-state, although nonsignificant at the .05 level, warrants future research with a larger sample size. Additionally, the nonsignificant change in CAPS suggested that one's perceptions of anxiety may be learned at an early age and, therefore, not easily modified. It is suggested that future researchers attempt to identify those factors which mediate perceptions of anxiety.

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